GEOGRAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DIsroYKKY. 



807 



during the winter months. From the spot where 

 \ve were several accessible spurs lead up to the top 

 of the cape, ami there a penile slope runs on to I In 1 

 great plateau of Victoria Land. The presence of 

 the penguin colony, their undisturbed old nests, the 

 appearance of dead seals (which were preserved like 

 Egyptian mummies, and must have lain there for 

 - , the vfgetation, and lastly the flat table of 

 the cape above, all indicated that here is a place 

 where the powers of the antarctic circle do not dis- 

 play the whole severity of their forces. Neither ice 

 nor volcanoes seemed to have raged on the penin- 

 sula at Cape Aclare. On this particular spot there 

 is ample space for house, tents, and provisions." 



Commercially the expedition was a failure, as the 

 kind of whale valuable for bone was not found ; but 

 the explorer discovered guano beds which he con- 

 siders of great commercial importance. The high- 

 est latitude reached was 74 10'. Borchgrevink is 

 to lead another expedition to Antarctica, the ex- 

 pense of which will be borne by a commercial com- 

 pany in England formed for whaling and bringing 

 cargoes of guano to England. 



America. The work of the survey to establish 

 the eastern boundary of Alaska was carried on dur- 

 ing the summer of 1895. Gen. Duffield, chief of the 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey, was the commissioner 

 appointed for the United States, and L). F. King 

 served for Great Britain. The reports were made 

 in January. From these it appeared that the great- 

 est difference between the lines run by the surveyors 

 of the two governments is but 6 feet 7 inches, or 

 15 seconds of longitude. The lines drawn by the 

 Canadian engineer, Mr. Ogilvie. in 1893, in mark- 

 ing the course of the one hundred and forty-first 

 meridian, were verified by the United States survey- 

 ors. Forty-Mile creek falls east of the line. There 

 are, however, grounds for contention on some points. 

 One is on the construction of that clause in the treaty 

 of 1825 between Russia and Great Britain which 

 stipulates that at no point shall the line be more 

 than 10 marine leagues from the shore. The United 

 States Government inter] irets this to mean 10 leagues 

 from the coast of the mainland, while it may be in- 

 terpreted to mean 10 leagues from the shore line of 

 the islands. 



But the portion of the frontier line that really 

 threatens a grave dispute is one that extends from 

 the southern point of Prince of Wales island up to 

 Mount St. Elias. where it strikes that meridian, and 

 thence proceeds to the Frozen Ocean. That treaty of 

 1 s ,'"> makes the starting point of the boundary line 

 the southernmost point of Prince of Wales island, 

 saying that the said line shall thence "ascend to 

 the north along the channel called Portland chan- 

 nel as far as the point of the continent where it 

 strikes the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude." It 

 is contended by some Dominion authorities that 

 what was called Portland channel in the treaty is 

 really the Behm Canal of to-day. This runs west of 

 Portland channel, and the result would be. were the 

 Dominion interpretation conceded, to take away a 

 large tract of United States territory, including two 

 important islands, and a still larger portion of the 

 mainland. Mr. Ogilvie says that British Columbia 

 objects to taking Portland channel as the boundary, 

 because the treaty says that the line beginnii,. 

 the point already spoken of "shall ascend to the 

 north." whereas u a northerly line from the south- 

 ernmost point of Prince of Wales island would 

 never reach Portland channel at all. but would go 

 up the channel known as Behm Canal." A map pub- 

 lished recently by Commissioner Martin, of British 

 Columbia, marks Behm Canal as the boundary line. 

 In a report made by a committee to the Seattle Cham- 

 ber of Commerce it is declared that the line through 

 Portland Canal was recognized by the whole world 



from 1825 to about 1884, and by British Columbia 

 itself on its otlicial maps as laU' as this last date. 

 Ai, r ain, when Alaska was bought of Russia United 

 States troops were stationed soon afterward at Fort 

 Tmigass at the mouth of Portland channel, and 

 United State> custom officials \\ere maintained : 

 for more than twenty years without protest, from 

 Canada or any other power. In the third place, it 

 is asserted that both Behm Canal and Portland 

 Canal were well known at the time of the conven- 

 tion of 1825. the latter having been named by Van- 

 couver as early as 171)3. Here it may be noted that 

 Annette island, the smaller of the two cut off by 

 the British claim, was set apart by an act of Con- 

 gress, approved in 1891, as a reservation for the 

 Metlahkatlah Indians, who removed from British 

 territory to this island. The secretary of these In- 

 dians says that when they went to Annette island, 

 in 1887, they were regarded as foreigners by the 

 Canadian authorities, and a steamer that arrived to 

 take their goods to Annette island was treated as 

 coming from a foreign country, the British customs 

 officer at Port Simpson trying to detain it. They 

 also had to receive clearance papers at Port Simp- 

 son. Besides, the Canadian Indian agent gave up 

 all attempts to control them when they had gone 

 to Annette island. Other circumstances cited prove 

 that the territory between the two canals has been 

 in the possession of the United States with the con- 

 sent of Canadian authorities ; and the claim, if made 

 by C( nada. must be based on alleged errors in the 

 maps of Canadian surveyors. The theory is based 

 on the fact that, starting from Cape Chacon, the 

 line, if carried through Portland channel, would 

 have to be carried east before running north. But 

 this eastern extension is very slight, and might well 

 have been omitted as being implied when Portland 

 channel was specifically prescribed as the boundary. 

 Another point of difference may be on the mean- 

 ing of the terms "winding of the coast," which under 

 a new interpretation might give Canada the owner- 

 ship of the heads of certain bays and inlets. 



Prof. Grove K. Gilbert, of the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey, has been making some calculations 

 as to the depth of Niagara river. He says: "For 

 about two miles below the Horseshoe Falls the cur- 

 rent is comparatively quiet, and soundings have 

 been made there, showing that the water is from 

 100 to 200 feet deep. But in the long stretch of 

 rapids above and below the whirlpool the current 

 is altogether too violent, and only indirect methods 

 are available. I have tried to obtain an approxi- 

 mate result by means of the speed, the width, and 

 the volume of the water. It is evident that, as all 

 water must pass each point of the channel, the rate 

 at which it passes will depend upon the width and 

 depth, or the cross section, and so if the volume of 

 water is known and the width and speed of the water 

 are measured, the depth can be inferred. Choosing 

 a stretch of the river 900 feet in length where the 

 sides are nearly parallel, I found the width to be 350 

 feet and the current in the middle of the stream to 

 be 23 miles an hour. The average volume of the 

 river is about 250.000 cubic feet per second, and 

 the combination of these figures, in accordance with 

 the ordinary engineering formula', gives the central 

 depth as about 40 feet." Prof. Gilbert adds that the 

 maximum speed of the water in the whirlpool rapids 

 is 27 miles an hour. 



An account of the discovery of a most beautiful 

 and hitherto unknown region in Montana was re- 

 ported in the summer of 1895. This region, rival- 

 ing for grandeur and unique beauty, it is said, the 

 Yosemite valley and the Grand Canon of the 

 Colorado, is north of Lake McDonald, near the 

 boundary between Flathead and Teton Counties, 

 and is surrounded by almost impenetrable forests. 



